Beloved readers: I’m using today’s introduction to invite you to a special event. Good Sport NYC is collaborating with READING 101—a quarterly reading series—to present Reading 4 Sport on November 11th at Night Club 101. It’ll be a night of athletics-related readings from five local writers, with music by DJ Big Dumb Baby. I’ll post the RSVP link on our Instagram and other socials in the next few days. It’ll be a party.
My genius friends Alexis Nowicki and Maria Robins-Somerville run READING 101. Alexis is a publicist and writer, and Maria is a poet and podcast producer. But more importantly, they are retired youth athletes. Maria did soccer and taekwondo, and reports that she was bad at both. Alexis’s parents made her try a new sport every year until she found the only one she was good at: running. If only you could get varsity letters in reading… these two would’ve been named team captains.
See you at Reading 4 Sport on November 11th. Doors at 6:30 pm, readings at 7 pm. Now here’s your newsletter.
NYC women’s sports news & culture
Here’s what you should know this week.
Gotham FC went down to D.C. and so did I. The only difference is they took an L, and I took only Ws as I celebrated my friend’s birthday. Gotham lost to the Spirit 0-1. It was a high-stakes game the Bats would have loved to win, as the loss denied them the chance to secure the NWSL Shield, an annual trophy given to the team that finishes with the best regular-season record. Trinity Rodman and the Spirit clinched a playoff spot with the win, and got some momentum back against their rivals; Gotham beat them in the 2025 championship, and more recently at the Queens Classic matchup at Citi Field. It’s getting tighter at the top of the NWSL standings. Ranked #1, Gotham once had a comfy 8-point lead, but now only has a 1-point buffer on #2 San Diego Wave.
The WNBA finals are underway. And the matchup between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream is set to be a fun one. The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant wrote, “There is no meaningful separation between these two teams on the court.” ATL and GSV share defensive powerhouse identities; they’re both physical teams. But they’ve got two very different franchise stories. Golden State is two years into its existence, and was accused of not having a star player—though Gabby Williams has shut that idea down, emerging as the team’s leader and a fan favorite, even if you’re not a Valks fan. Important NY Liberty lore: Gabby is dating Libs point guard and fellow French national team member Marine Johannès, who was cheering Gabby on during Game 1 on Saturday in SF. Gabby and Marine are my favorite WNBA couple <3 And then there’s The Dream, who certainly have their star in Angel Reese, who just scored her first DPOY award. She’s surrounded by vets with experience playing at the highest level, including Jordin Canada, who’s been on an absolute tear this postseason. Game 1 was tight and looked like it could be anyone’s game, but the home team took the W to start the series. And the Valks have arguably the best home court in all of the W. The full WNBA finals schedule for this week is listed below.
A look at the trend of women’s sporting events taking place in historically men’s venues. I liked this piece from Kaitlyn McNab and TOGETHXR on this recent pattern. NYC has been the backdrop for a few of these games: Gotham FC hosted the Queens Classic at Citi Field for 42,000+ fans, and our PWHL Sirens hosted the Seattle Torrent for a sold-out crowd at MSG. McNab says these venue takeovers are a necessary act of expansion while more women’s sports-specific venues are built. My requirements for those venues: Way more women’s bathrooms and guaranteed access to Diet Coke.
What to watch this week
Monday 10/19
🏀 WNBA Finals Game 2: The Golden State Valkyries host the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center at 8:00 pm ET. Golden State leads the series 1-0. Watch on USA Network, CNBC, or Peacock.
Wednesday 10/21
🏀 WNBA Finals Game 3: The Atlanta Dream host the Golden State Valkyries at State Farm Arena at 8:00 pm ET. Watch on USA Network, CNBC, or Peacock.
Saturday 10/24
🏀 WNBA Finals Game 4: The Atlanta Dream host the Golden State Valkyries at State Farm Arena at 1:00 pm ET. Watch on NBC or Peacock.
Sunday 10/25
⚽ Gotham FC are at the Orlando Pride at Inter.co Stadium at 3:00 pm ET. Watch on CBS Sports Network.
Classifieds
Shouts and calls from the community. Plus some jobs.
✷ Stay Pressed is dropping custom Liberty merch ✷ Stay Pressed is a design duo creating offbeat screen-printed merch for your favorite New York sports teams. Their goal is to make clothes for sports fans who don’t feel represented by a classic jersey. They’ll be selling their latest drop at Blazers during Game 2 of the WNBA finals on 10/19. More here.
Before you go…
We hit 400 subscribers over the weekend. I am honored and excited to keep growing this damn thing! I’d be stoked if you shared Good Sport with someone in NYC who loves women’s sports. Thanks for being here <3 See you next week.